Feeding trough attachment



NOV. 25, 1952 H, wHlTTiNGTON 2,619,313

FEEDING TROUGH ATTACHMENT Filed Oct. 5, 1949 2 SHEETS SHEET l INVENTOR.

16 1'7 EMMETT H.WHITTINI3TCIN ATTORNEY Nov. 25, 1952 E. H. WHITTINGTON ,3

FEEDING TROUGH ATTACHMENT Filed Oct. 5, 1949 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 LL A I i- 40 T so 26 26 2s 26 6 36 LP" f N 4 0 INVENTOR. EMMETT H.WHI TTINB T UN.

BY g4 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FEEDING THOUGH ATTACHMENT Emmett H. Whittington, Richmond, Ind.

Application October 5, 1949, Serial No. 119,714

2 Claims. (01. 2i8230) This invention relates to feeding trough attachments for use with both poultry shipping crates and feeding batteries.

In the transportation and marketing of live poultry, it is the general practice to feed and water the fowl both in transit and at the terminal market. The equipment provided for this purpose comprises a trough, either triangular or rectangular in shape, to be mounted on the shipping crate or the feeding battery by hook members attached to the trough. Because of the rough usage to which the equipment is subjected, the hangers for the trough may be either broken or bent into useless shape, and in order to continue to use the trough, the handler must resort to makeshifts such as cord, rope or baling wire to secure the troughs in usable position.

One practice is to feed thick mash or dry grain to the fowl, in which case the trough is provided with a compartment for water, but the more general practice is to use a wet mash with a flow practically the same as water. In either case, it is necessary to maintain both ends of the trough at the same level to prevent spilling the contents.

It very frequently occurs that when a crate is resting on the floor, or upon a truck, or upon the top of another crate, it will be tilted or sloped sufficiently to raise on end of the trough higher than the other, and in order to prevent the loss of the contents of the trough, the handler must either bend one or both of the trough hooks or block up the lower end of the crate by whatever means which may be available.

The object of the invention is to provide an adjustable supporting means for feeding and watering troughs for shipping crates or feeding batteries of the type in which the sides and/or ends are constructed of vertical rods or tubes secured at the top and bottom in the upper and lower supporting frames.

Another object of th invention is to provide a supportin clamp structure for feed troughs which may be easily attached and detached from the rods, and which is easily movable longitudinally of the rods to change the relative positions of the ends of the feed trough to compensate for tilting of the crates.

Another object of the invention is to provide trough supporting clamps which may be used interchangeably with members of various diameters without making adjustments.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sturdy clamping device of few and simple parts which may be easily and economically produced and assembled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a trough securing latch of simple and convenient construction in combination with the clamping device.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a view in side elevation of a device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of a clamping plate and trough supporting member looking at the inner face thereof.

Figs-3, 4 and 5 are detail end views, with parts broken away, showing the application of the clamp to rods of difi'erent diameters.

Fig. 6 is a view in front elevation of a cylindrical spring member for applying pressure to the clamping plates.

Fig. '7 is a side elevational view of a live poultry container with a feed trough supported thereon by means of the clamps of this invention, and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. '7 showing the relative position of the parts when the container is resting upon a sloping surface.

The device of this invention comprises generally a longitudinally slitted cylindrical spring member 5 substantially enclosing a pair of cooperating clamping plates 6. Formed upon each clamping plate 6 is an angular member 7 which extends rearwardly through a longitudinal slot 8 through the wall of the spring member 5. The forward edge of each of the plates 6 extends beyond the edge of the slit in the spring member 5, and is provided on its outer fac with a groove I2, within which the edge of the slitted member 5 is engaged.

The clamping plates 6 are right and left formations, and each is provided on its inner face with a longitudinal groove or depression [5, and with stepped clamping surfaces It and I1 at each of its ends. The stepped surfaces It and il may be provided by cutting and bending inwardly the metal at the ends of the plate 6.

The clamping surface provided by the grooves or depressions I5 is adapted to engage a member 26 of the diameter shown in Fig. 3. The clamping surface defined by the stepped surface 16 is adapted to engage a member 2| of the diameter shown in Fig. 4, and the clamping surfaces ii are of a separation to engage a member 22 of the diameter shown in Fig. 5.

The angular member 1 comprises arms 25 and 2-6 disposed at an angle of approximately ninety degrees with respect to each other to receive an angularly shaped feed trough 30 on their upper edges. It is not necessary that each of the clamping members be provided with portions 25 and 26. One arm may be only of the length shown by the dotted line 28, Fig. 1. When two such members are provided for each clamp, the trough will fit the angles of the members 25 and 26 imperfectly when clamped upon either the largest or the smallest rods. When only one of the clamping members is provided with the angular part 25-25, the clamp may be swung on its 3 supporting rod so that the angular part 25-26 lies in a plane at right angles to the trough, so that the trough will exactly fit the angle for each size rod.

Each arm 26 is provided at its outer end with an ear or hook portion 21 adapted to engage the upper outer edge of the feed trough 30.

A swinging wire spring latch member 35 is mounted between the members 1 at their inner ends adjacent the cylindrical member 5. Formed upon the upper end of the latch member 35 is a hook portion 36 adapted to engage the upper inner edge of the feed trough 30 to hold it against displacement by road jars or vibration when the trough is used with loaded crates in transit.

In applying the clamp to a. crate, the angular members I are pressed toward each other, fulcruming against the inner edges of the slots 8, to move the plates 6 outwardly against the edges of the slit in the cylindrical spring member 5, thus spreading the clamping plates 6 until they are separated sufiiciently to engage a vertical rod of the crate. When pressure upon the member I is released, the plate 6 will be moved into firm clamping engagement with the selected vertical rod by pressure of the cylindrical member 5 upon the outer faces of the plates 6 within the notches I2.

Figs. 7 and 8 show the feed trough 30 applied to a crate comprising upper and lower rectangular frame members 40 and 4| and vertical members 20 and 21 of different diameters supported between the upper and lower frame members.

The position of the feed trough 30 with respect to the crate 40 when the crate 'is level is shown in Fig. 7, and its position when the crate is resting in an uneven or non-horizontal position is shown in Fig. 8.

The spring latch member 35 may be swung downwardly into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 when not required.

The clamping and supporting device of the invention provides a. means for easily and rapidly mounting and dismounting a feed trough as required, and greatly facilitates the proper care necessary in the handlin of live poultry.

Since it is constructed of few and simple parts, it may be economically produced and it is sturdy enough to resist rough handling and abuse.

Although I have shown and described my invention with respect to certain details of construction, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be unduly limited thereto, certain modifications being possible without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A unitary clamping and supporting bracket comprising a pair of spring-pressed pivoted clamping plates provided with a plurality of clamping surfaces at one side of the pivots for engaging vertical supporting rods of different diameters, one of said clamping plates extending integrally on the other side of the pivots and being shaped with an internal upwardly facing angle for engaging the front and rear walls of a feed trough and with a projection on its end for hooking over the edge of a feed trough.

2. A feed trough supporting bracket for live poultry containers comprising a pair of springpressed pivoted clamping plates provided on their adjacent faces on one side of the pivots with a plurality of cooperating clamping surfaces, one of said plates extending integrally on the other side of the pivots and there shaped with an internal upwardly facing angle portion for engaging the front and rear of the feed trough and provided on its outer end with an inwardly extending hook portion.

EMME'I'I H. WHI'I'IINGTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 154,679 Seale et al. Oct. 1, 1946 385,650 Wemple July 3, 1888 721,313 Lawless Feb. 24, 1903 912,191 Simmons Feb. 9, 1909 1,495,269 Stewart May 27, 1924 2,166,533 Oettel July 18, 1939 2,461,333 Maccaferri Feb. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 18,226 Great Britain Dec. 12, 1907 

